Moreton-in-Marsh

Moreton-in-Marsh

Moreton-in-Marsh owes its long, generous High Street to the Romans, who drove the Fosse Way in a straight line from Exeter to Lincoln. The town grew up along that route and kept the width, so there is a sense of openness here that you don't always find in the Cotswolds. Every Tuesday the street fills with market stalls selling everything from local cheeses and baked goods to vintage finds and cut flowers; it is one of the oldest and largest street markets in the region, and worth planning a morning around. At the north end of the High Street stands the sixteenth-century Curfew Tower, its bell once rung each evening to remind the townspeople to cover their fires. The Redesdale Hall, an imposing Victorian building nearby, still serves as the town's gathering place for concerts, exhibitions and community events.

Beyond the market, Moreton rewards a quiet wander. Independent shops, tea rooms and good pubs line the High Street, and the Wellington Aviation Museum, tucked away on the edge of town, tells the story of the wartime bomber training base that once operated here. For those arriving by train, Moreton's station sits on the mainline to London Paddington (about ninety minutes), making it one of the easiest Cotswold towns to reach without a car. The town also sits at a crossroads for exploring Chipping Campden, Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold and the quieter villages to the north. Moreton-in-Marsh is about twenty-five minutes from Well Cottage by car.

On the edge of town, Batsford Arboretum is one of the finest private arboreta in England — spectacular in autumn when the Japanese maples and cherries turn, and worth visiting in any season for the magnolias and tree peonies. Just north of Moreton, Sezincote House is one of the area's genuine secrets: an English country house rebuilt in the early nineteenth century in the Mogul style, with an onion dome, Indian-style water garden and orangery, said to have given the Prince Regent the idea for Brighton Pavilion. It opens on certain afternoons through the summer and receives very few visitors. The Tuesday market is the heartbeat of Moreton, and arriving early — before the stalls fill up and the town wakes properly — gives you the best of the cut flowers and local produce. A morning at the market, a walk through the town, and an afternoon at Batsford or Sezincote makes a full and rewarding day of it.